Healthy Vs. Unhealthy Coping Strategies Worksheet

GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC GinaMarie Guarino, LMHC

Worksheet updated on October 30th, 2022

Healthy Vs. Unhealthy Coping Strategies

Having coping strategies is an important part of maintaining good mental health, but sometimes a person can develop unhealthy coping strategies without realizing the impact they have on their quality of life. Unhealthy coping strategies may be effective, but that does not necessarily mean that they should be used to cope with life stressors. There are coping strategies that need to be modified or replaced with healthier coping strategies when working on improving mental health.

The first step to building healthier coping strategies is to learn the difference between healthy and unhealthy coping strategies. Unhealthy coping strategies may bring relief from stress, but also bring other consequences. Healthy coping consequences can also bring relief while helping a person in therapy build resilience and tolerance for their stressors.

About This Worksheet

This is the Healthy Vs. Unhealthy Coping Strategies worksheet. This worksheet explains the difference between healthy and unhealthy coping strategies. It also provides a list of common signs that indicate whether a coping strategy is healthy or unhealthy.

This worksheet can help adults who suffer from mental health issues learn how to improve their coping strategies. Such mental health issues include anxiety, depression, stress, relationship issues, trauma, substance use, and more. It can be used in both individual and group sessions.

Instructions

Explain why it is important to have healthy coping strategies and how not all coping strategies are healthy, even if they are effective. Review the content on the worksheet with your client. Then, instruct them to complete the reflection questions.

Your client may need assistance or guidance with identifying their unhealthy coping strategies or healthy coping strategies to begin using. Guide them through the process of understanding whether their coping strategies are healthy or unhealthy. Review the responses to their reflection questions with the client and provide them with a copy of the completed worksheet for reference.

Download Healthy Vs. Unhealthy Coping Strategies Worksheet

Link To This Worksheet

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